Wilking José Rodríguez Carrasco (born March 2, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

organization. In 2007, Rodríguez signed with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

On February 26, 2007, Rodríguez signed with the

as an international

. Rodríguez made his professional debut in 2007 in the

Venezuelan Summer League The Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) was a professional baseball league that operated in Venezuela from 1997 to 2015, primarily in the state of Carabobo. Teams in the league served as academies for Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations, and wer ...

and posted a 1.95 ERA in 17 appearances. He returned to the Venezuelan Summer League Rays the following year and pitched to a 3.71 ERA in 10 games. In 2009, Rodríguez played for the rookie-level

Princeton Rays The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Ta ...

and recorded a 1-6 record and 3.21 ERA in 13 starts with the team. Rodríguez spent the 2010 season with the Single-A

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which ...

, pitching to a 4-10 record and 4.23 ERA with 93 strikeouts in innings of work. He split the 2011 season between Bowling Green and the Low-A

Hudson Valley Renegades The Hudson Valley Renegades are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fishkill, New York. The High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades play in the South Atlantic League. The Renegades play their home games at Heritage Financial Pa ...

, accumulating a 1-4 record and 5.00 ERA in 11 appearances between the two teams. On November 18, 2011, Rodríguez was added to the Rays'

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Before the 2012 season, he ranked as the Rays' 20th best prospect, Rodríguez played for the High-A

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

in 2012, logging an 0-4 record and 5.56 ERA in 7 starts. On October 20, 2012, Rodríguez was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He played in 8 games for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Rays in 2013, missing a portion of the year due to injury, and pitched 9 scoreless innings for the team. On November 4, 2013, Rodríguez elected free agency.

Kansas City Royals

On November 23, 2013, Rodríguez signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was assigned to the Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

to begin the 2014 season and later received a promotion to the Triple-A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

. On June 2, 2014, the Royals selected Rodríguez's contract from Triple-A, and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time. Rodríguez made 2 appearances for the Royals, pitching 2 scoreless innings, before he was optioned back down to Omaha. He was placed on release waivers by the Royals on August 11.

New York Yankees

On August 18, 2014, Rodríguez signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was invited to spring training with the Yankees for the 2015 season, but did not make the team and was assigned to the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

to begin the season. On April 15, 2015, Rodríguez was suspended 80 games for a PED violation. In seven appearances for Scranton, Rodríguez registered a 2-0 record and 1.69 ERA. He became a free agent on November 6, 2015.

Rieleros de Aguascalientes

On January 1, 2020, after spending the past 4 seasons out of affiliated ball, Rodríguez signed with the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team based in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes that competes in the Mexican League. Established in 1975, the Rieleros have won the Mexican League cha ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. Rodríguez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On May 28, 2021, Rodríguez re-signed with Aguascalientes. Rodríguez recorded a 3.86 ERA in 13 appearances with the Rieleros.

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos

On July 18, 2021, Rodríguez was signed off waivers by the

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (English: Two Laredos Owls), formerly known as the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (English: Nuevo Laredo Owls), are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The Tecolotes are a binational baseball team, spli ...

of the

. He made 12 appearances for Dos Laredos down the stretch, posting a 1-1 record and 3.77 ERA with 19 strikeouts in innings pitched. In 2022, Rodríguez pitched in 46 games for the team, recording a 6-2 record and 2.01 ERA with 73 strikeouts and 17 saves in innings of work.

St. Louis Cardinals

On August 30, 2022, Rodriguez signed a minor league deal with the

. However, he did not appear in a game for the organization. On December 7, 2022, the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

selected Rodríguez from the Yankees in the 2022

. During spring training, Rodríguez competed for a middle-relief role, and logged a 4.26 ERA and 6:3 K:BB over innings pitched. On March 23, it was announced that he would begin the season on the injured list with right shoulder tightness. On May 3, it was announced that Rodríguez would miss 4–6 months after undergoing

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

surgery on his right shoulder. Following the season on November 13, Rodríguez was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

; he subsequently elected free agency. On November 21, 2023, Rodríguez re–signed with the Cardinals on a minor league contract. In 13 games split between the Single–A

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

and Triple–A Memphis, he accumulated a 6.17 ERA with 17 strikeouts across innings pitched. Rodríguez was released by the Cardinals organization on September 26, 2024.

New York Yankees (second stint)

On December 13, 2024, Rodríguez signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Wilking 1990 births Living people Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Gulf Coast Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Memphis Redbirds players Navegantes del Magallanes players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Palm Beach Cardinals players Baseball players from Puerto Cabello Princeton Rays players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan Summer League Devil Rays/Reds players Venezuelan Summer League Rays players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Italy